March 25, Bonnie Guitar (b. 1923)

Sorry for not posting for a while. I’ve been to seven countries since January 1 to deliver anti-harassment training. Back home now.

Since July 2016, I have been concentrating solely on female composers.  You can read about that in my post from July 19.  If I can’t find one born on the calendar day, I may not post.  On with today’s composer.

Bonnie Buckingham started performing guitar at the age of 16 and was given the name “Bonnie Guitar.”  She is one of the first female country western singers to have a cross-over pop song, “Dark Moon.”    Here’s the Wikipedia entry for her. After moving to LA with her husband (and guitar teacher) Paul Tutmarc, she became a successful session musician, eventually backing such acts as Jim Reeves and Ned Miller. Miller wrote the music to “Dark Moon” and she offered to record it giving up her royalties to the song for the opportunity to do so. The song became a hit. She followed up with a number of others which did not rise as high and she eventually formed her own record label and produced such acts as “The Ventures.”

Mr. Fire Eyes (1957)	Dark Moon (1957)
I really don’t Want to Know	Performing at the age of 90